Christmas Carols

By Kathy Carlton Willis –

I don’t know about you, but for me, Christmas celebrations would not be complete without music. I love hearing Christmas songs in stores while shopping. The music uplifts me and it feels like I’m floating on air—transported to a different time and place without problems and trials.

At home I dig out all of my Christmas music. They include Windham Hill and Manheim Steamroller. I also have a peppy “Christmas on the Border” CD featuring Texas Blues, Hot Country, and Mexican Salsa-style Christmas tunes! And of course I have many of my favorite artists’ Christmas albums.

Churches also celebrate this sacred holiday with music. Most of our services have Christmas hymns and Christmas specials. Our children perform Christmas musicals. Children, music, and Christmastime—all of my favorite things!

I find myself humming Christmas tunes throughout the season and longing for an opportunity to join a group in Christmas caroling. I started caroling as a Girl Scout in third grade, and have caroled in some fashion almost every year since then.

Christmas music was a part of that very first Christmas. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” I can’t even imagine what it was like to hear the angelic choir as they sang. But we can sing a different kind of song than the angels. The angels knew the Christ-child as the Son of God who dwelled in heaven prior to His earthly birth. But we can know the Son of God as our personal Savior, something the angels will never know.

Don’t you think that gives all of us something to sing about? Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

PRAYER: Author of Christmas, sing Your songs into my heart that I might sing Your songs to others this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14 KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Kathy Carlton Willis, Christ-servant, wife to Russ, editor, publicist, certified CLASSeminars speaker and faculty member. Kathy Carlton Willis Communications encompasses her many passions. Kathy’s tagline captures her essence—Light & Lively: His Reflection/Her Laughter. Schedule Kathy for a speaking event or contact her firm for promotional assistance. KCWC gets jazzed shining the light on God’s writers and speakers.

Forgotten by God?

By James H. Pence –

There are times when I wonder if God has forgotten about me. Ironically, I rarely feel this way in times of great difficulty or trial. When bad things happen, I am hard-wired to cry out to God. And generally in those times I sense His presence, comforting and sustaining me.

Nor do I wonder about God’s presence in my life when He is tangibly pouring out His blessings.

Most often, I wonder where God is during life’s dry times, when I feel like I’m wandering in a desert. Or when I’m feeling my way through a spiritual fog bank, not knowing which way to go or what to do. Or when life itself seems like an exercise in frustration.

That is when I want to stand cry out into the gray cloud banks surrounding me, “God? Are you still there?”

As I cry, I am often greeted by stony silence. I look. I listen. I cry out again, but He is nowhere to be seen or felt. It is on those occasions that I feel like the psalmist who wrote, “O Lord, why do you reject me, and pay no attention to me?” (Psalm 88:14 NET).

Yet in the midst of that fog, God has not left me without comfort. When the clouds obscure His face, I look to the Scriptures and am reminded of His watchful care. Jesus said “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows,” (Luke 12:6-7 NET).

Even when I cannot feel Him, cannot sense His presence, God reminds me that He is there. For if He does not forget a single sparrow, and he numbers the hairs on my head, He has not forgotten about me.

And so I must put away fear and despair, and trust in the One who knows the location and behavior of every molecule in the universe–even when I cannot sense his presence.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Even when I cannot sense God’s presence, He is still there with me.

“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7 NET).

Today’s devotion is by James H. Pence. James is an author, speaker, singer, and gospel chalk artist, but prefers to be known as follower of Jesus Christ and a storyteller. To learn more about James and how he draws the stories of your heart, visit his Web site at: www.jamespence.com.

Are You One of the Myer Girls?

By Cheri Cowell –

“You’re one of the Myer girls, aren’t you?” the question was more of a statement than an actual question. My sister and I would say with a nod, “Yes, sir.” And then we’d smile inside, because being a Myer girl meant we were raised well, and the question meant we’d worn the name well. I’m not so sure we still teach this principle today, but it is a good one. There is more to carrying a name than just signing it as your last name. Much more. God knows this principle and it is one of His favorite teaching tools.

In this Scripture, John the Baptist was speaking to those who had come for a sort of heaven insurance—wanting to be baptized so they could insure their entrance into heaven, but having no intention of changing their lives. Like signing a name without any intention of carrying the full pride of that name in word and deed. God wants us to feel blessed to be chosen to carry the name Christian, but He wants that decision to change us to the core. If we are to claim we are Christians than it needs to show in how we treat others.

PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for the example in Jesus of what it means to carry the name Christian. Help me produce the kind of fruit in my life that will cause others to say, “Look at __________! They must be a Christian, because I see the way they treat others.”

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones” (Luke 3:8 NLT).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at www.CheriCowell.com

Bursting With Thanks

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I decided one year that Mom needed a break from cooking the whole Thanksgiving dinner. She and Dad determined still to have it at their house. They would provide the big pull-out table and some side dishes, while traveling relatives could bring fresh fruit and relishes. It was my graduation from Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Niblets. I would roast (heavenly choir sings) The Turkey.

In preparation, I watched PBS cooking shows and checked out cookbooks from the library. I even found a video for my husband on how to carve a turkey. Thus equipped, I felt confident. After all, I come from good Scandinavian cooking stock.

We ordered a turkey big enough to feed nearly twenty people. He barely fit in my oven. I took no chances. He came with a pop-out thermostat and gravy pouch, and I stuck him in one of those convenient cooking bags. I glanced over the directions, noting how much time he’d need to cook. After a newlywed fiasco in which I served my husband’s bosses nearly-raw chicken, I thought I’d err on the side of well done. I’d cook it a bit longer, but with a cover over the pan so no moisture would escape. The fragrance soon promised a mouth-watering meal.

Pressed for time at the end, I whisked the food from the oven to a towel-lined box along with some pumpkin pies and Potatoes Supreme. I thought I would burst with pleasure at supplying the main dish for the first time! Mom stood by to help lift it out. My husband stood by ready to carve. My older sister stood by, curious. The guests, seated, seemed to suspend their breathing as I raised the cover to reveal a perfect wreck of a bare carcass. It looked like a bomb had landed in its middle. My husband would not need his carving lessons, with the turkey in bite-sized bits. I’d forgotten to cut venting holes in the cooking bag.

Let’s see; humility? That’s an important lesson. Plan ahead more? Be better prepared? Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds? They say that at such times one’s life passes before one’s eyes. But I took comfort as instead, a verse from 1 Peter in The Message flashed to mind: “Love makes up for practically anything.” Then I obeyed the next verse: “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry…”

AUTHOR QUOTE: Thank God if you belong to a family who loves you whether you succeed or fail (even if they never let you live it down).

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Attitude of Gratitude

By Kathy Carlton Willis –

Thanksgiving Day, as celebrated in the United States, is today. What a great way to kick off the holiday season leading up to Christmas! One of the greatest reasons of all to give thanks is because we have the gift of Christ from our Heavenly Father. God’s unconditional love allowed Him to give up what He held most dear, His perfect Son, to provide a way of salvation for His created humanity. What better timing then, for Thanksgiving and Christmas to go hand in hand.

When we think about it, we must admit, we are so blessed. Even families enduring great hardships can find something for which to be thankful. In fact, it is an attitude of gratitude which will transform a downcast spirit into a countenance radiating joy. Others may not even realize the trials you are enduring because your shoulders are not weighted down and there’s still a spring in your step. Happiness depends on happenings, but joy comes when we focus on all the reasons we have to be grateful.

I know at least two families who read their calendars wrong and celebrated Thanksgiving last week. At first, I laughed at their silly mistake. But then I couldn’t help but realize there is nothing wrong with wanting to hurry up Thanksgiving. In fact, it is one holiday that could change our world, if each of us would have an attitude of gratitude all year long.

Just think what a transformation would take place if we were all thankful. Thankful for our salvation, we’d tell others about Christ. They would become thankful for the gift and have their own spiritual birthday. Thankful for God’s provision, we would share our provisions with those in need. Thankful for friendships, we would get along better with others. Appreciating our families more, we would spend more time together. Grateful for our jobs, we would become the best employees possible.

Can you see how developing an attitude of gratitude could transform our world? It wouldn’t just become a positive place to live. It would become a Christ-filled world.

AUTHOR QUOTE: May this Thanksgiving Day start your own gratitude revival!

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 TLT).

Today’s devotional is by Kathy Carlton Willis, Christ-servant, wife to Russ, editor, publicist, certified CLASSeminars speaker and faculty member. Kathy Carlton Willis Communications encompasses her many passions. Kathy’s tagline captures her essence—Light & Lively: His Reflection/Her Laughter. Schedule Kathy for a speaking event or contact her firm for promotional assistance. KCWC gets jazzed shining the light on God’s writers and speakers.

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